Council Adopts Positions on Design Legislation

On September 25, 2023, the Council adopted its positions on the proposed recast Directive on the legal protection of designs and the proposed amended Regulation on community designs. These positions mark a significant step in the ongoing design legislative reform process in Brussels, following the Commission's package proposal in November 2022.

The reform's objectives are to modernize design protection in the digital age and make it more accessible to individual designers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and design-focused industries. This includes reducing costs and complexity, expediting the registration process, and providing greater predictability and legal certainty in design protection.

The Council's adoption of these positions serves to formalize its negotiating stance, granting it the authority to engage in negotiations with the European Parliament. These negotiations are expected to commence once the Parliament establishes its position. The process is anticipated to advance to the trialogue stage around January 2024.

The new legislation is foreseen to be adopted and become effective in the first half of 2024. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is actively preparing to integrate all the changes resulting from this reform into its daily operations.